The governor of the Lipetsk region - located between the city of Voronezh and the capital Moscow - has asked residents to avoid leaving their homes and to refrain from travelling, either with private vehicles or on public transport.

"The situation is under control, but requires understanding on the part of every inhabitant of the region," he said a statement.

BBC News Russian sources say that Wagner mercenaries have seized military sites in the city.

Why it can be difficult to tell a Wagner mercenary from a Russian soldierpublished at 12:12 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

12:12 BST 24 June 2023

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Distinguishing Russian soldiers from Wagner mercenaries is central to understanding the current picture on the ground.

In particular, videos have emerged with claims that Wagner forces have moved to takeRostov-on-Don. However the current situation is unclear.

During the war in Ukraine, Wagner-affiliated troops have often, but not always, worn the group’s distinctive skull badge emblem.

But it can otherwise be difficult to distinguish Russian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries as the group has also been supplied by the Russian state for its contributions to the war in Ukraine.

Wagner personnel are more likely to wear ad hoc or non-matching combat fatigues and other items of kit, such as helmets and body armour - but they can also wear the same standard Russian army “Ratnik” field uniform issued to Russian soldiers.

The UK government’s emergency committee, Cobra, is going to meet to discuss the situation in Russia, the BBC understands. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to speak to other international allies later today.

We've also heard Mr Sunak's first response to the situation unfolding in Russia.

Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, he said the UK was calling on "all parties to exercise responsibility and protect civilian lives", and that there was long-standing advice against travelling to Russia.

He also said it was an evolving situation and the UK had been in touch with its allies.

Jaroslav Lukiv

Image source, Reuters

In his reply to President Vladimir Putin's TV address earlier today, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was defiant, vowing to end "corruption, lies and bureaucracy" in Russia.

It's believed to be the first time that Prigozhin has directly challenged the Kremlin ruler.

He was previously loyal to the president and even nicknamed "Putin's chef" for his catering contracts from the Kremlin.

Prigozhin's earlier scathing criticism of the Ukraine war centred mainly on Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valeriy Gerasimov, as well as Russia's FSB security service and the country's oligarchs.

In Russia rulers - or tsars - have for centuries been seen as untouchable, and taboo subjects for any criticism. A popular Russian saying is: "The tsar is good, the boyars [nobility around him] are bad."

Well, a claimed deadly Russian strike on a Wagner military base in Ukraine may have been the last straw for Prigozhin.

But he might have also been thinking that his battle-hardened fighters - reportedly as many as 25,000 of them - are now able to have an upper hand in a power struggle with the Kremlin, amid growing public discontent over Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine.

On top of that, there have been suggestions that Prigozhin may have some high-ranking backers in the Kremlin and the military.

A huge fire is burning at an oil depot in Voronezh - one of the two cities where Wagner fighters are believed to have seized key military sites.

The regional governor, Alexander Gusev, said 100 firefighters were working to put it out.

Videos circulating on social media show a massive column of black smoke rising from the site.

Our team at BBC Verify are looking at those videos and we hope to bring you some images soon.

The map below shows you where Voronezh is. It's halfway between Rostov-on-Don, which Wagner claims it has seized, and the capital Moscow.

Image source, .

We've been writing a lot about Rostov-on-Don, the first city targeted by Wagner mercenaries.

It's an important city, and hosts the headquarters of the Russian Southern Military District command, which is currently engaged in operations against Ukrainian counteroffensives in southern Ukraine.

It's also located just 100km (60 miles) from the Ukrainian border and houses a command centre for the Russian forces in Ukraine, as well as being a logistical hub for the Russian army.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank notes that any disruption or threat to the Russian military’s presence in Rostov "is likely to have ramifications on some critical aspects of the war effort".

Wagner mercenaries have claimed that they have seized the city of Rostov-on-Don.

A short while ago, the governor of the Rostov region, Vasiliy Golubev, took to Telegram to urge people to stand with President Putin: "There have been times in the history of Russia when some wanted to separate our society and stoke the flames of civil war... it led to a catastrophe."

He added: "This cannot be allowed to happen again. The Rostov region sides with the President! Dear fellow countrymen, we must be united!"

Image source, Ukrainian Handout

We'll stay in Ukraine for a moment, where President Volodymyr Zelensky has given his reaction to developments in Russia.

Zelenksy, posting on his Telegram , externalaccount, says anyone who "chooses the path of evil destroys itself", and that "Russia's weakness is obvious".

Although he does not mention Russia's President Putin by name, Zelensky appears to criticise the Russian leader for "throwing hundreds of thousands" into war.

The longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries in Ukraine, "the more chaos, pain and problems it will have for itself later", Zelensky says.

Andrew Harding, BBC News, Donbas region, eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian army medics, bringing wounded soldiers from the nearby frontlines around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, welcomed news of the military rebellion in Russia.

“If there’s a revolution in Russia, I’m going to get drunk!” grinned one, in the small town of Chasiv Yar.

But others were wary about predicting what impact it might have on the war.

“I hope it helps us," said another experienced military doctor. "But I’m not sure I believe it. It seems more like some kind of show, rather than a real revolution."

With Ukraine in the middle of a key counter offensive, there's a possibility that the country will rush to take advantage of the chaos - and the likely drop in Russian troop morale.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has called Prigozhin's armed rebellion a "knife in the back" and says he supports Vladimir Putin's every word.

Kadyrov has ruled Chechnya, a republic in southern Russia, since 2007.

Kadyrov is a loyal supporter of Putin, and has also at times supported Prigozhin's hawkish approach to the war.

However, he has recently distanced himself from Prigozhin's outspoken criticism of Russia's senior military leaders.

"I appeal to the fighters - the patriots of our motherland. Don't give in to provocations," he said.

"Whatever aims you are given, whatever promises are made to you, the safety of our state and cohesion of Russian society are the most important thing right now," Kadyrov said in a long post on Telegram.

He added that Chechen fighters from the defence ministry and national guard have already left for the "zones of tension".

The post ends with the words: "The rebellion must be crushed, and if that requires harsh measures then we are ready!"

Chechnya fought unsuccessfully for independence for a decade.

Things have been developing quickly in Russia.

Here's what has happened in the past few hours.

• President Putin made a televised speech calling the challenge by the Wagner mercenary force "high treason" and a "stab in the back". He appealed for unity and said authorities were acting quickly to contain the situation
• Rebelling Wagner mercenaries say they have taken control of the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, a key military site.
• BBC sources also say Wagner forces have now seized military facilities in a second city - Voronezh, which is halfway between Rostov-on-Don and Moscow.
• Prigozhin has said he will march on the capital if top military figures don't meet with him.
• Prigozhin appears to have responded to Putin in an audio message, saying his troops were not committing treason, but rather were "patriots" fighting for the future of the Motherland - calling out "corruption, lies and bureaucracy"
• And the international community is starting to respond. Some countries that border Russia are building up security, while NATO says it is monitoring the situation closely.

Stay with us for news as it happens.

Security in Russia has been tightened as part of anti-terror measures.

This follows fighters from the Wagner mercenary group claiming they have seized key military sites in the city of Rostov-on-Don, in the south of the country.

BBC News Russian sources also say Wagner has taken control of military sites in Voronezh, a city halfway between Rostov and the capital Moscow.

Here are some images of the extra security seen across Russia.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, Reuters

An audio message has now been published on Wagner's Telegram channel.

It appears to be a direct, defiant response from Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the mercenary group, to President Vladimir Putin's TV address earlier on.

A male voice resembling that of Prigozhin can be heard saying: "About treason of motherland, the president was deeply mistaken.

"We are patriots of our motherland. We have been fighting and are fighting now.

"And nobody is going to - as demanded by the president, the FSB (Russia's security service) or anyone else - to admit our guilt.

"Because we don't want our country to live anymore in corruption, lies and bureaucracy."

In his address on Saturday morning, Putin accused Wagner of high-treason - without specifically naming the group.

Image source, Reuters

The fast-moving events in Russia are extraordinary.

President Putin has accused Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin of treason.

But all claims of a military coup are absurd, claims Prigozhin, who says his aim is "not a military coup but a march for justice".

To find out more, take a look at our piece explaining how tensions between Putin and Prigozhin have developed:

• Is this a coup? What is Prigozhin doing in Russia?

BBC News Russian sources are now saying that Wagner fighters have taken control of all military facilities in the city of Voronezh, a halfway point between Rostov-on-Don (where Wagner also says it's in charge) and the capital Moscow.

Voronezh city officials are yet to publicly comment on the claim.

Meanwhile, Voronezh region governor Aleksandr Gusev has warned that there are many fake reports circulating about a movement of an armoured column in the region.

He also says the Russian armed forces are now carrying out "operational and combat measures" in the Voronezh region as part of the early declared counter-terrorist operation.

The map below shows you where Voronezh is. It's still a long way from Moscow, which the Wagner group has threatened to march on.

Image source, Reuters

One of the key developments of this story is Wagner mercenary rebels claiming to have taken control of the key Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, near the border of Ukraine.

A resident of Rostov-on-Don tells BBC News Russian that the entire city centre is surrounded and blocked off.

There are soldiers around, says the person, who asked not to be named.

"When [we] asked who they are, the soldiers say 'we're just good people'," says the resident.

"The situation in the city is calm: there is no panic, everything is like on a normal day."

They also say that streets a ten-minute walk from the military headquarters, which Wagner claims to have seized, "seem to be free" but the area near the military building is "tightly surrounded".

BBC Verify has verified footage of tanks and armed men taken inside the city.

Jaroslav Lukiv

Earlier on Saturday, videos emerged purportedly showing Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin threatening to march on Moscow from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, which he claims is now under his control.

But would he, theoretically, be able to reach the capital, or is it just a high-stakes blackmail of the Kremlin?

Well, Prigozhin claims to have 25,000 armed fighters under his command. Most of them have for months been involved in fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine.

In recent days, Prigozhin has been withdrawing his troops to the bordering regions of Russia, including Rostov and Belgorod.

But the bulk of this fighters are currently far from the Russian capital.

To move there, Prigozhin and his men would need to cover hundreds of miles - crossing Russian regions where a special "counter-terrorism" regime is in place.

Unconfirmed reports say a Wagner column was on Saturday hit by Russian air strikes in the Voronezh region, a halfway point to Moscow.

Both Prigozhin and the Russian defence ministry are now actively urging armed men on the opposing side to switch allegiance - but at this stage it's unclear who will have an upper hand.

Still, there is already talk of a new civil war in the vast country.

With events changing by the minute, here are some of the key locations to keep in mind.

We know Wagner Group mercenaries last night crossed the border from Ukraine into Rostov-on-Don, and have established themselves in Russia's southern military headquarters.

While Rostov-on-Don sits near the Black Sea, there have been reports, including from the UK Ministry of Defence, that Wagner Group troops are making their way north towards Moscow through the Voronezh Oblast, which is the wider area around the city of Voronezh.

The city is about 300 miles (482 km) south of Moscow.

The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has threatened to march on Moscow unless Russia's defence minister meets him.

Video shows armed men surrounding Russian military HQpublished at 09:48 British Summer Time 24 June 2023

09:48 BST 24 June 2023

Numerous videos have now appeared online showing armed men and armoured vehicles surrounding the heaquarters of Russia's Southern Military District - a key decision-making centre for the war in Ukraine, located in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.

At present it is unclear whether these armed men are Russian soldiers seeking to secure the building, or members of the Wagner mercenary group. It is notable, however, that their weapons seem to be trained on the building itself.

We've verified several videos filmed outside the distinctive building, which is located on a busy street in the south of the city.

Despite the dramatic scenes, normal life seems to be continuing, with young people gathering on street corners to live stream events, and road sweepers calmly going about their business.

But what is happening is far from normal.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says his group is now in control of key military sites in Rostov-on-Don, and will make the 1,000-mile march to Moscow if he is not granted an audience with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov - .

Prigozhin has released two videos said to have been filmed inside the headquarters itself. We are seeking to verify that footage now.

Jaroslav Lukiv

Neither the Russian authorities nor rebellious Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin seem to be ready to back down in what is now a crisis threatening to tear apart the country.

But what's behind it?

Well, Prigozhin has repeatedly blamed Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu for failures of country's armed forces and high casualties on the battlefield in Ukraine.

"The war was needed... so that Shoigu could become a Marshal, so that he could get a second Hero Star… the war wasn't for demilitarising or de-nazifying Ukraine. It was needed for an extra star," Prigozhin has said, directly contradicting the Kremlin.

He also blamed the war on oligarchs, condemning "the clan which in practice rules Russia today".

The last straw seems to be Prizoghin's claim that a Wagner base in Ukraine was hit by Russia's military earlier this week. Shoigu's ministry denies this.

Kremlin watchers also point to a long-running personal hatred between Prigozhin and Shoigu, whose generals see the Wagner boss as power-drunk outsider.

But until now, Prigozhin - nicknamed "Putin's chef" for past catering contracts from the Kremlin - has not thrown a direct challenge to Putin's rule.